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Riley Cooper is on the run. Misha Tokarev, the love of his life, turned out to be an assassin for the Russian mob, and when it comes to character flaws, Riley draws the line at premeditated murder. Alien armor system McClane is also on the run, for reasons that include accidentally crashing a space ship into Earth and evading U.S. military custody. A failed prototype, McClane was scheduled for destruction. Sabotaging the ship put an end to that, but McClane is dubbed a bone rider for good reason—he can’t live without a host body. That’s why he first stows away in Riley's truck and then in Riley himself. Their reluctant partnership soon evolves into something much more powerful—and personal—than either of them could have imagined.

Together, they embark on a road trip from hell, made all the more exciting by the government troops and mob enforcers hot on their trail. Misha is determined to win Riley back and willing to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. When hitman and alien join forces, they discover their impressive combined potential for death and destruction. It will take everything Riley has to steer them through the mess they create.

I really enjoyed this book but at the same time it frustrated the hell out of me.

I didn't give two shits about anyone's POV outside of our three leads. There were entirely too many and it ejected me from the story almost every time. I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THESE OTHER PEOPLE. I ended up starting to skim through every time we were forced back to the POV of the military personnel. I didn't need to see any of that to get the story. What a waste. There was seriously only two times I can think of that the outside POV's were helpful to the plot. That's pretty much it.

That said, I LOVED Riley, McClane, Misha, and his two friends. This was a wonderful group of characters and I quite enjoyed getting to know them and going on their adventure. The other crap wasn't needed or appreciated - mostly because it took me away from them. Which is sad because they were great and the story didn't benefit straying from them as it did.

This sounds like an insane premise - a cowboy, a hitman, and an alien AI armor? - but it WORKS. Their story was a great one and I recommend it. I also recommend skimming all the bullshit that ISN'T them. It could probably be a five star read if it wasn't for the fact it went off track so damn much. As it stands, I hover between a 3.5-4 star rating.

Review of Bone Rider

By Lacrimioara Dorina Hapa on Nov 25, 2013 10:11

Awesome book and awesome writing skills... I even loved all the many point of views, because they made me so invested in those characters, and at the same time enriched the story giving me the opportunity to \"see\" through so many eyes the same actions in so many different ways. Definitely an author I would look out for - but really I would love to read more about THESE characters ( sequel(s), please ?! )

Review of Bone Rider

By Neka on Oct 29, 2013 11:10

Superb! There comes a time while reading when you realize you stumbled across a real gem and the author goes on your instant buy list. I think that happened for me around chapter four. I could tell from the opening scenes that I was going to enjoy this story. I devoured the nearly 300 pages as if it were less than a hundred. I initially decided to give it a try--new author, no ratings or reviews to speak of--because the storyline was just too unique to pass up. I instantly became invested in, of all things, the alien armor suit named McClane. Shortly after McClane ran into his host I started to like Riley and not long after the rest of the gang: Misha, Andrej, and Kolya. (BTW I kept saying Cola in my mind until about page one-hundred fifty something--not on purpose) Besides becoming invested in these well fleshed-out characters and interesting sidekicks, I was also impressed without how skilled J. Fally was at making the character's flaws work.
My view on what is right and wrong is pretty much black and white with a little shaded gray area. I didn't think I'd overcome the dislike of Misha's 'day job' but as I came to know him, and through his regard for Riley, I came to appreciate the hard life that had forged him and couldn't even dislike him for the profession he'd chosen. Misha was ultimately more than his 'career'.
I forgave him misdeeds as Riley forgave him. I also enjoyed every edge-of-your-seat action sequence, tender moments from men forged of granite, the deeply flawed but still lovable characters, the peppering of humor throughout, and the human conviction and passion that drove each character to do what he or she did.
Despite the death toll there was no villain in this story, There were only fallible humans, and well, one Bone Rider I hope to read about in the future.